I spoke to freshman center Tyler Bozak at tonight’s DU awards banquet, and he said he would decline any NHL free agent offers and return to school in the fall.

He said he instructed his “family advisor” — an uncontracted agent — to let all NHL teams knows of his intentions to return to school.

This is great news for DU fans. Bozak, who led the Pioneers with 18 goals and 34 points last season, could double those numbers as a sophomore. He’s a special sniper, and the Pios will be LOADED up front, with 11 of their 12 top forwards scheduled to return — plus incoming freshman Joe Colborne, who in June could become the program’s first NHL first-round draft pick since 1984.

If the roster remains the same in October, I can’t think of a deeper DU team up front since I came along in 1995. Colborne, who was named Canada’s junior A player of the year, comes in fellow forwards Nate Dewhurst, Stepan Novotny and recruited walk-on Luke Salazar. Deep!

Meanwhile, here’s the DU release about the 2007-08 team awards:

Senior goaltender Peter Mannino (Farmington Hills, Mich.) earned Most Valuable Player honors, while freshman Tyler Bozak (Regina, Saskatchewan) joined Mannino in netting two awards as the University of Denver celebrated its 52nd Annual Hockey Awards Evening tonight at the Cable Center on the DU campus.

The Pioneers (26-14-1) celebrated their 2007-08 season in which they claimed their WCHA-leading 15th playoff title, advanced to their 19th NCAA Tournament and won 21 or more games for the seventh consecutive season. In addition, the Pioneers said goodbye to seniors Zach Blom (Englewood, Colo.), Tom May (Eagan, Minn.), Andrew Thomas (Bow, N.H.) and Mannino, who finished their four-year DU careers with 100 wins, one NCAA national championship, two WCHA playoff titles, one WCHA regular-season crown and three Wells Fargo Denver Cup championships.

Mannino earned the Bill Masterton Memorial Award (MVP) and “Star of the Year” Award (most star of the game points) after leading the Pioneers with a 25-14-1 record, 2.27 goals against average, .917 saves percentage and six shutouts. He broke Gerry Powers’ 38-year career shutouts mark at 13 with 15 during his stellar four-year career. Mannino finished his DU career ranked first in shutouts, second in saves percentage (.917), and third in saves percentage (2.35) and wins (63).

Bozak claimed the Barry Sharp Memorial Award as top freshman and Leading Scorer Award. Bozak became the third freshman to lead the team in scoring since 1986-87 with 34 points on 18 goals and 16 assists. Bozak earned All-WCHA third-team honors and was named to the All-WCHA rookie team.

Junior Chris Butler (St. Louis, Mo.) earned his second consecutive Keith Magnuson Memorial Award as top defensive player. Butler became DU’s 34th All-American this past season and finished his three-year career with 66 points on 20 goals and 46 assists in 115 career games.

Thomas and J.P. Testwuide (Vail, Colo.) were co-recipients of the Dr. Ralph Verploeg Award for most inspirational players. Captain Thomas and alternate captain Testwuide guided the Pioneers back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.

Sophomore Tyler Ruegsegger (Lakewood, Colo.) captured his second consecutive Dr. Art Mason Award as top scholar-athlete. Ruegsegger recorded a perfect 4.0 GPA during the fall and winter quarters.